Health ministry clarifies on cost of Covid-19 vaccine

The ministry of health has said it has not yet confirmed with the manufacturer the cost at which the Covid-19 vaccine will be shipped into the country.

The ministry released a statement after posts started making rounds on social media, claiming different costs of the vaccine.

The ministry’s permanent secretary Dr. Diana Atwine says the figure that’s being circulated is an estimate, but they will soon get the right figure from the manufacturer.

She noted that Uganda, like other Low- and Middle-Income Countries, will access the COVID-19 vaccine through the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX facility).

“This facility is negotiating the price of the vaccine on behalf of almost 90 LMICs, including Uganda,” she said in a Thursday statement.

“No single country under COVAX has negotiated the price of the vaccine with the manufacturer directly.”

All countries will procure the vaccine at the same price as agreed between the COVAX facility and the manufacturers, reads the statement.

Dr. Atwine says the cost of USD405 million is a working estimate of the National Deployment Vaccination Plan (NDVP) to roll out the COVID-19 Vaccine.

“The ministry would like to reiterate that this a working estimate as we await final communication from the COVAX facility. It is important to note that each manufacturer of the approved COVID-19 vaccines has a different cost.”

The permanent secretary recently revealed that Uganda would access the vaccine from AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company.

“Uganda will participate in the Global COVAX initiative for COVID -19 vaccine access and has already submitted an application to this effect, which has been accepted by the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative (GAVI),” Dr. Atwine said in an earlier statement.

“Based on the evidence available and the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health, Uganda will access the vaccine from AstraZeneca.”